Ethics and Integrity in the Commercial Environmental

Laboratory IndustryInsuring a Balanced Approach for

Procurement, Laboratory Analysis and Data Production

J. Farrell & D. SpeisACIL Mid Winter Meeting

February 7, 2006Washington, DC

2005 Meeting on Ethics and Integrity: Laboratory Focus

• Internal Programs

- Training & Education Clients & Employees

- Compliance Monitoring

Proactive Approach

Controlling Client Ethical Confrontations

• Establish Client Expectations

• Effective Staff Training

• Solid Documentation

• Establishing the Ethical Boundary“Know When To Just Say No”

• Active Participation in Regulatory Rulemaking

Ethics & Integrity Continuum

“No Hard Line”• Regulatory Role

- Expectation vs. Reality

• Client Role- Expectation vs. Reality

• Laboratory Role- Expectation vs. Reality

Regulatory Process & Expectations

• Rulemaking Process- Stakeholder Involvement- Responding to Stakeholder Involvement

• Accreditation- Ethics and Data Integrity Demonstrations

Client Processes and Expectations• Procurement – One Sided- Low Bid- Commodity Perspective- E-Bid- Penalties

• Execution of Services- High Quality- Defensible Data (QC & Integrity)- Regulatory Agency Support

• Post Delivery Intervention- Data Changes- Laboratory Self- Discreditation- Regulatory Support

Favorable Pricing Prompt Execution High Data Quality High Data Integrity Post Delivery Support

Client Expectations for Laboratories

Absence Of Loyalty

Absence Of Performance Incentives

Performance Taken For Granted

First Stop in the “Blame Game”

Rewards of Meeting Client Expectations

• ACIL Action Assuring Ethical Treatment What Business Ethics Do We Expect

From Colleagues? From Clients? From Regulators?

• Regulatory Process

• Client Process

• Communicating the Message White Paper? Newsletter Articles?

Integrating The Process“Getting the Message Across”

(Group Discussion)